


Five Minutes Longer

by There_Was_A_Star_Danced



Category: Resident Evil - All Media Types
Genre: Again sort of, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Carlos is Brazilian, F/M, I write angst not whump-idies, IT COULD HAPPEN, Light Flirting, Role Reversal, So he would be speaking Portuguese, Sort Of, Universe Alteration, Update:Portuguese, based heavily on the remake but draws from the original, got off track, if my brazilian son doesn't have some spanish words in there, let's just say I'll be speaking with Capcom, since the remake hasn't come out yet, sorry - Freeform, technically canon compliant, thank you for the comments!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23032582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/There_Was_A_Star_Danced/pseuds/There_Was_A_Star_Danced
Summary: “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” -Ralph Waldo EmersonJill, seeing the man’s hand move, rolled to put her back to the explosion and tried to pull herself up. The blast knocked out her feeble attempts, and she shook her head again, trying to clear the ringing in her ears.She coughed, spitting up blood.“Easy, Garota, I got you.” A hand landed on her shoulder and pulled her over. Without pausing, the man she’d seen earlier grabbed her hand and tried to pull her to her feet.“Who are you? What are you-” Jill tried to ask. She wasn’t sure if her words were even making sense.“The name’s Carlos, and I’m rescuing you. Come on.”
Relationships: Carlos Oliveira/Jill Valentine
Comments: 26
Kudos: 98





	Five Minutes Longer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ace_Of_Fleurons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_Of_Fleurons/gifts).



“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

* * *

There was no time to think. 

So Jill ran. 

It didn’t last long. The monster’s rope caught Jill’s leg and pulled. Weightless, she flew. A scream ripped from her as the cable let go, and she slammed into a car. She couldn’t move, could only watch through bleary eyes as the monster stalked towards her. 

Suddenly, the monster jerked and turned. A man stood behind it, an assault rifle balanced against his shoulder. With a swift move, the man brought a grenade to his mouth with his other hand, pulling the pin with his teeth and flinging it at the monster. 

Jill, seeing the man’s hand move, rolled to put her back to the explosion and tried to pull herself up. The blast knocked out her feeble attempts, and she shook her head again, trying to clear the ringing in her ears. 

She coughed, spitting up blood. 

“Easy, _Garota_ , I got you.” A hand landed on her shoulder and pulled her over. Without pausing, the man she’d seen earlier grabbed her hand and tried to pull her to her feet. 

“Who are you? What are you-” Jill tried to ask. She wasn’t sure if her words were even making sense. 

“The name’s Carlos, and I’m rescuing you. Come on.”

* * *

He worked for Umbrella. Of all things, he worked for Umbrella. He was only a mercenary for them, a hired hand, a dog told to go fetch a stick by his master—his words, not hers. But he and his men worked for the same company that had plunged the whole city into this horrible crisis. 

She had to help them. They were survivors too, and above all else, they had to leave this city behind. 

She bounced back down the stairs of the Subway station, light on her feet for how tired she felt. 

“Good job, Super Cop.” Carlos grinned at her, coming to meet her with his Assault Rifle in hand. She sighed, wiping a hand across her brow. 

“Please tell me we’re ready to go.”

“Almost ready. We just need thirty to forty minutes for the last bits of maintenance.” 

The doors marked exit flew open, and Carlos greeted his supervisor and the rest of his men. The supervisor, Nickolai, was not happy to see Jill. 

“What is she doing here?”

“She’s helping me get the trains running again.”

Nickolai scoffed. “It’s a bad time to carry a dead-weight. She’s unreliable. She’ll only get you killed.” 

Carlos frowned. “Hey. Take it easy.” He seemed upset for Jill’s sake, and she appreciated that. She liked to think she was at least pulling her own weight. 

“Sorry about that,” Carlos murmured to her after Nikolai and the other men headed to the train car. “Everyone’s a bit wound up.” 

_And the understatement of the year award goes to-_ But she couldn’t blame him. She caught his eye and nodded. 

At that moment, an explosion rocked the station, and they heard a bellow of “S.T.A.R.S.!” 

“Oh, come on, not again!” Carlos groaned. 

Nemesis. 

Jill ran, punching the switch to close the gate and dashing under it with Carlos. Her mind raced: they still needed forty minutes. And that monster was after S.T.A.R.S. members. If she went with the team, she would lead Nemesis right to the shelter. To the survivors.

She had to give them the time they needed. This was her job. To protect people. Even Umbrella mercenaries it seemed. 

She dropped and rolled back under the gate. 

“Jill? Jill! Wait!” She could hear Carlos calling her and banging on the gate, but it was too late. She stood and faced him, readying her gun. 

“It’s me Nemesis wants. I’ll buy you time.” 

“ _Bosta_ , Jill! Do you have a death wish?!” 

Jill shot him a glance over her shoulder. “Saving people is my job. Go.” 

Her gun was ready. She took off, running up the stairs. 

Her lungs burned from the scream of her war cry. 

There was no time to think.

So Jill ran.

* * *

Carlos watched helplessly as Jill ran from him, up the stairs and straight into the arms of death. She was right; they needed the time, but did she think she would survive the onslaught of a beast like Nemesis?

Her words rang in his head. “ _Saving people is my job._ ” Little idiot. Brave little idiot. She couldn’t do it alone. Besides. Saving people was his job.

Turning on his heel, he pried open the junction box and found the switch to open the door. He could hear Nikolai shouting at him not to be stupid, but he ignored him. 

He shook his head as the gate started sliding open, and he rolled under it. Leaping to his feet, he hit the button to close the gate again and jogged after Jill and her monster stalker. 

“One of these days I’m gonna stop rescuing this woman,” he grumbled. Shaking his head, he picked up his pace and ran after her. 

* * *

Nemesis was gaining on her. The ground shook under his weight. Her legs felt like jelly. Her breath came in uneven pants. Her gun had eight bullets left. She turned corners at random, shouting to call Nemesis to her. As if her wild shots at random zombies weren’t doing that. 

Turning another corner, she came on a ladder escape route. She grabbed the bottom rung and pulled herself up, clambering up the metal beams. She didn’t even realize that she couldn’t feel the ground shaking anymore. Ignoring everything but the need to get higher, get higher, get higher, she pulled herself up. 

How long had she been running? Had Carlos been able to start the train? Were they already at the meeting place? On their extraction chopper? 

The next rung of the ladder felt cold. Looking up, Jill saw the night sky above her. Her escape must lead to the roof. It would have to do. 

Suddenly, Nemesis loomed above her, his giant hand reaching to grasp her head and lift her like a toy doll. She screamed, kicking and clawing at every part of him she could reach. He tossed her away and, as before, the fall knocked the breath out of her. She struggled to get up, bracing herself against the pile of barrels it had thrown her into. 

She barely noticed the label on the barrels, and only out of pure instinct rolled to get away from them as Nemesis opened fire. 

The barrel exploded. Gasoline. 

She steadied her gun and fired. One. Two. Three. 

Nemesis turned on her. 

Duck and roll. Get to the fire escape. 

Not there yet. Fire again. One. Two. Three. 

Two bullets left. 

Nemesis was getting angry. Grabbing a barrel of gasoline, he lifted it over his head and flung it at her. 

The barrel hit the fire escape. The metal exploded, flying off the side of the wall with a mournful screech. It had trapped her. 

The flamethrower came back in full force now, and Jill had to duck and roll again to avoid it. It was then she noticed movement from the top of the hut on one side of the roof. 

Carlos, lying on the roof, waving to her, assault rifle locked and loaded.

Moving on instinct, Jill stood and ran to the third stack of as-yet-untouched barrels. She knocked one on its side and rolled it towards Nemesis with all her remaining strength, barely taking the time to see it on its way before grabbing the next and doing the same. 

She heard shots and explosions but didn’t turn her head. No time. Last barrel. Over. Push. Roll. Shot. Boom. 

The last explosion was too close. Jill dropped to the ground with a scream, covering her head. She was sure it singed some of her hair but didn’t dare move her hands from her face to see. All she could hear was the fire crackling. All she could feel was the heat, lapping at her skin. 

And then she felt a large, warm, familiar hand on her shoulder. She dropped her hands. And there was Carlos, his stupid grin shining. 

“Saving you is getting to be a full-time job. How many times now have I saved your butt?” 

He offered her a hand, and she took it, smiling in relief. 

“I thought I was saving yours. You’re supposed to be getting the train going.”

“Well, according to that guy, you’re supposed to be dead. And aren’t we glad you two are disappointed?” 

Carlos pulled her up and reached forward, flicking a bit of gravel off her shoulder holster and letting his fingers run down the bare skin of her shoulder. She shivered, despite the heat. She stepped away, putting her back to the fire. To her monster.

“After that save, I can’t even be mad.” Jill smiled at him. “I thought I was a goner there. Thanks—” 

Carlos’s eyes widened. He grabbed for her shoulder and shoved her down. Just in time.

Nemesis flung out his body-rope weapon. Carlos gasped and stepped backward. With another jerk, the rope-weapon pulled out. Carlos put a hand to his side and pulled it away covered in blood. 

“Oh. Ow.” 

“CARLOS!” Jill screamed, grabbing for him.

He slipped through her hands, falling with a thump to the ground. Jill could only stare for a moment. And then everything became very clear.

Grabbing Carlos’s assault rifle, she turned on Nemesis with a scream. Round after round, she fired into him, screaming all the while. She wasn’t even sure what she was screaming, but she knew that at one point it became wordless. And when the gun clicked empty, and Nemesis had fallen on one knee, right near the edge of the roof, Jill dropped the rifle and rushed him in a frantic tackle. With a wild heave, she landed on the disgusting monster and, with near inhuman strength, pushed him over the side. 

But she couldn’t revel in her victory. As soon as she was sure Nemesis had hit the ground, she stumbled back to Carlos. He’d fallen back against a power box, eyes closed.

“Carlos! No! Don’t die on me, don’t you die on me!” Jill laid a hand on his face, moving it to his throat to check his pulse. 

He coughed and jolted, shaking his head. 

“Hey, easy. I’m not dead yet.” His face flickered into a grin before he coughed again. “Guess that hero stuff is harder than it looks, huh?” 

Jill felt caught between the rash desires to kiss him and to slap him. The idiot, couldn’t he see-? Couldn’t he feel-?

No, he could. He was joking for her. He was saving her again. This time from herself. 

She shook herself, trying to ignore the look in his eyes as she pushed his hair out of their way, trying only to focus, to remember. She needed to put pressure on the wound. Or was it clean it first? No, it was pressure. And get him somewhere safe. 

“Jill, I need to tell y-”

“Not now, Carlos. We need to get someplace safe.” 

“I think I saw a first aid kit in the hut. But Jill-” 

“Easy, Carlos, I got you.” She pulled him up by the hand, putting herself under his arm and lugging him toward the hut with as much strength as she could muster. 

Carlos muttered something about crazy ladies who never listened, but he helped her as much as he could, and they made it to the hut. There was a pile of boxes in the corner, and Carlos sank onto them. Jill glanced around and spotted the first aid kit on the wall. She ran for it, opening it as she came back, reaching for the bandage that might stop his bleeding. 

But before she could begin her work, Carlos stopped her hand. 

“Jill, stop, just listen for a minute, will you? I’m fine.”

“You are so obviously not-”

“JILL.” 

Jill sighed and dropped her hands. “What?” 

“I think I got infected. And if it’s bloodborne, I sure don’t want to be giving it to you.” 

“What?” Jill gasped. Of all things, not this. Not this. 

“I feel weird. And itchy by the stab wound. But I’m not feeling any pain. So just let me handle cleaning and bandaging it, okay?” 

Jill gulped, dropping her hands and nodding. Carlos smiled, taking the bandage from her. She stood and paced as Carlos worked on himself behind her. 

Carlos couldn’t be infected, he couldn’t. Not her Carlos. Her Carlos? There wasn’t time. She had to stop the infection, to stop him turning. There had to be a-

“A cure.”

“Huh?”

Jill ran and dropped to her knees in front of Carlos. 

“Listen, the outbreak only happened here in Raccoon City, yes? Which means it must have started from somewhere. And where’s the most likely place?”

“Umbrella Labs,” Carlos drawled, comprehension dawning. 

“Yes.” Jill nodded. “And if there’s a disease, there’s a cure. And the most likely place to find it?”

“Umbrella Labs. Where it started. Well, shoot.” Carlos sank back against the crates again, running a hand through his mess of hair. 

“I’m going.” she gritted her teeth. “I’ll get you that cure if it kills me.” 

“Jill, wait.” Carlos grabbed her hand. “You take care of yourself out there. I won’t be able to pull your bacon from the fire again. And it’d be a shame for it to go to waste.” He shot her a flirty grin, and she scoffed, smiling fondly. 

“Seriously, though. If we can go by Murphy, you won’t have over two days. If you don’t make the deadline, don’t come back. Save yourself. And don’t take any risks. Just… stay alive. Okay?” He was in earnest, gripping her wrist tightly. The earlier ruffle of his hair had pushed it off his face, and she could see his eyes, deep and brown, staring into hers. And she could see herself in them, scared, tired, determined.

She gulped, taking her time to taste the words she would say. 

“I’m not gonna fail, Carlos.” She stared at him, willing him to believe her. 

He let go of her wrist and sank back against the boxes. A soft smile played around his mouth, and his face relaxed. 

“No, I don’t think you will.” He nodded at her. “Thanks.” 

She dropped a hand to his shoulder, squeezing and releasing it quickly. 

“I’ve got to go. Stay safe. Don’t let the infection take over. At least not before I get back.”

“Yes, Ma’am. There are some extra rounds in my bag, you can have them. Oh, and Jill?”

“What?” She turned on her heel, getting one last look at him propped on the boxes.

“One last thing. You’re not gonna fail. But whatever happens, it’s been an honor, Super Cop.” He tossed her a grin and a lazy salute. 

Jill snapped one back on instinct, then pointed a firm finger at him. “Don’t die.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “And leave you in a cold, cruel, Carlo-less world? I don’t think so.” 

She grinned. “Okay.”

In the distance, the clock struck. Nine o’clock. 

There was no time to think. 

So Jill ran.

**Author's Note:**

> *screams*  
> Okay, so this started as a challenge between myself and the lovely Ace_Of_Fleurons, and can I just say THANK YOU SO MUCH for inspiring me to write this. I flipping love it, and I could and--perhaps after the challenge is over--would love to continue this story, bringing it up to the end of the game.  
> A note on the Spanish, Chica means girl or lady, loco chicas means crazy ladies, and mierda means... well... crap. Or it's, you know, stronger equivalent? Anyway, so um, *coughs* that's that.  
> I hope you enjoyed! Especially you, Erin, Love ya girl! *HUGS*  
> I think that's all I have left, so until next time,  
> Addio! ~Bea  
> UPDATE: Thank you all so much! Even in my most read fics, I've never had such an overwhelmingly positive response! I love you all, you are amazing! What a welcome to the fandom!  
> Now, for the news: What I changed and my plans for the future of this fic.  
> As for what I changed, I switched most of the Spanish phrases into Portuguese, on the recommendation of LadyValtiel, who pointed out that Carlos would actually be speaking Portuguese if he was from Brazil. The phrases mean the same if you've read this before. If not, Garota means young lady, and Bosta means crap. (And actually not the stronger equivalent! Huh.) I took out the phrase "crazy ladies" and replaced it with it's English since I wasn't even strong enough in Spanish to get it right! Sorry about that!  
> Other than that, I added a line or two at the end that you should recognize if you've played the game or watched all the trailers. I feel a little bad being that cheezy, but I couldn't resist, and I think Carlos would approve. Hope none o'y'all are laughtose intolerant!  
> Now, plans for the future. I have decided on reflection (and finishing the full playthrough of the game today) to not continue this fic as is. I've updated it to bring it a little more up-to-date, but I'd like to leave it in it's In Media Res (in the middle of things) glory. I really like this, the pacing, the stanza, etc., and especially since this was a gift/challenge, I'm going to leave it as is after this revision.  
> HOWEVER! Jillos has got a grip on me, as does this fic, so what I AM going to do is expand this and make it the first maybe two chapters of a longer fic which goes through the end of the game and beyond, up until Jill and Carlos officially become a couple. That is a definite plan. Considering how the re-make went, I'm still mulling over how this new fic will progress, so it may take just a little while to get out, but it is in the works! Keep an eye out for that pretty soonish here.  
> Thank you all again so much for your support on this story! When I started a little 2500 word fic on a game I knew very little about, I never knew how much I would grow to love this fandom, these games, and this couple! Jillos forever!  
> Stay strong, people! *HUGS* Stay Amazing, and Tough As Nails!  
> ~Bea


End file.
